HIV/AIDS is a worldwide pandemic afflicting 40 million people, and currently there is no cure. The proposed research is to develop a new reporter cell line to facilitate the discovery of novel anti-HIV drugs. This prospective reporter cell system will employ a Rev-dependent lentiviral vector, which has been shown previously to be highly specific to HIV infection. This novel system will greatly facilitate the development of a novel cell- based drug screening platform. Additionally, by employing two reporters this system can be used in multiple assay formats and would be amenable to high-throughput screens for antiretroviral compounds. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This NIH R03 Small Research Program grant is to develop a new research methodology, namely, the development of a new Rev-dependent cell line to screen for anti-HIV drugs. HIV infection causes AIDS that afflicted approximately 40 million people globally. This proposed research will facilitate the development of new therapeutics.